The city’s high-altitude sky was enveloped in lightning. Amidst the dense, tree-like electrical pillars, an even brighter burst of light suddenly erupted.
The explosive energy it contained was so intense that its brightness far exceeded the lightning, then rapidly expanded, sweeping outwards like a hurricane.
In the midst of the immense sound and blinding light generated by the explosion, the Demon Lord’s Dharma Manifestation shattered into pieces, then silently vanished, leaving only his divinity—a fist-sized mass of ink-black swirling light, wrapped in his heart’s gray soul.
Chu He’s cheeks, back, and arms were heavily scarred by the intense lightning. His palms were a bloody mess, and his pinky and ring fingers even showed bone.
He clutched the black light, trying his best to raise his head and search for Zhou Hui’s direction. However, all he could see was lightning everywhere, like countless crisscrossing whips mercilessly lashing the earth.
…That’s fine, Chu He thought, a mix of regret, self-mockery, and relief flashing through his mind.
Looking so disheveled must be quite unsightly.
Better not let him see it.
Chu He staggered to his feet, gathering his energy, and surged towards the higher heavens. Behind him, the lightning converged into a torrent, relentlessly pursuing, crushing countless demons who had no time to scatter and flee into minced meat, and turning millions of hell demons into dust mixed with flesh and blood.
The Phoenix’s scarred body accelerated to its limit in the strong wind. The next moment, the Great Demon’s divinity in his hand played a crucial role—a time rift opened at the edge of the sky, and in a flash, Chu He plunged into it!
Meanwhile, in Hell, at Mount Buzhou.
Under the gloomy sky above the abyss, a spatial black cavity several kilometers long suddenly tore open.
The void within the black cavity was deep, and lightning abruptly burst forth with light, then poured down like a torrent, crashing to the ground and instantly shaking the entire majestic Mount Buzhou range.
Chu He’s figure, enveloped in the waterfall-like torrent of rapidly descending lightning, slammed onto the cracked earth.
The heavenly tribulation had not yet ended. Wherever he went, lightning followed, even in hell. The sky above Mount Buzhou immediately underwent a dramatic change. Lightning emerged from the red, ominous clouds, and a few seconds later, the first bolt of lightning struck fiercely, erecting a giant pillar of light connecting heaven and earth in hell.
Chu He was bathed in the baptism of electric currents, his steps faltering, leaving bloody footprints on the crumbling earth.
Golden-red Phoenix True Fire floated around his body, protecting him to the greatest extent possible, but that was power directly from his soul, and once used, it would be gone.
Would he undergo nirvana? He thought exhaustedly.
If he underwent nirvana, he would become a phoenix egg, and he wondered where it would fall this time. The best possibility would be for Zhou Hui to pick it up, hatch it in a microwave, and turn it into a small bird with sparse head feathers…
But since Zhou Hui said he didn’t want him anymore, perhaps he would find a tree on Mount Buzhou, build a bird’s nest, and leave the phoenix egg there.
Chu He vaguely imagined the scene of himself naturally hatching from the egg on Mount Buzhou tens of millions of years later. A newborn phoenix facing the eternal gray sky and land of hell, dragging its tail feathers as it flew over the long gray river, would surely feel a sense of confusion about where to go.
He shivered involuntarily, and suddenly another fantastical idea popped into his head: It was said that phoenix eggs resembled white jade and were exceptionally beautiful. If it rolled to Zhou Hui’s feet after nirvana, perhaps he would pick it up as a very beautiful stone, casually tuck it into his pocket and take it away… Wait, no, that wouldn’t do. What if it was casually given away later, wouldn’t that be tragic?
Chu He walked step by step down the abyss, and finally, the blood-red demonic eye embedded in the earth appeared before him. Only at close range could one intuitively grasp how large this hemisphere was; it almost covered several square kilometers of ground in the valley, forming an arc like a red lake surface, connecting from one end of the mountain range to the other in the distance.
Chu He stopped at the edge of the demonic eye, looked up at the exceptionally bright sky amidst the thunder and lightning, and took a deep breath.
Within the Phoenix True Fire enveloping his entire body, a brighter, purer mist, thin as moonlight, suddenly differentiated. This mist swirled upwards from in front of him, reaching the center of the red demonic eye, and suddenly resonated with some substance in the void, emitting crackling sounds.
—That was the divine power of the ancient divine bird Phoenix, truly its ultimate, deepest, and strongest power, hidden deep within its marrow.
The space-time of hell finally tore open a rift under the sensation of this divine power, barely wide enough for two fingers to pass through, revealing a void of unpredictable illusions within, appearing like a channel. However, the tearing process then stopped. The divine power’s exhaustion caused the crackling sounds to weaken, and finally, the rift stopped at a width that could barely fit a hand.
Chu He gritted his teeth and reached his hand in, and amidst the overwhelming lightning strikes, let out a cry of intense pain.
—Boom!
The heavenly tribulation, rarely seen through the ages, rushed into the rift under his hand’s guidance, then erupted into a world-shattering burst of light!
The sealed space-time finally collapsed under the immense force of the tribulation. Invisible barriers split, splattered, and fragmented walls rushed into the void, turning into distant, faint specks of light on the horizon.
The path that the Buddha took from the Immaterial Heaven straight down to Mount Buzhou tens of thousands of years ago, that divine realm hidden in the void that no one had ever stepped into again, finally revealed its mysterious, ancient gate before the Phoenix.
After this round of furious eruption, the overwhelming heavenly tribulation finally showed signs of weakening. However, Chu He was too exhausted to perceive this fact. He knelt on the ground, trembling all over, then after a moment, exhaled a hot, bloody breath, stood up, and staggered towards the ethereal entrance in the void.
Just then, a strong gust of wind swept past him, and then the hand holding the Demon Lord’s divinity became empty!
Chu He abruptly turned his head, and before he could see who it was, he was suddenly grabbed by the throat, lifted, flown across the entire demonic eye, and slammed heavily against a shattered rock face!
—Bang!
Chu He’s body bounced back from the impact, then was again pressed against the mountain wall by the hand on his throat. He opened his mouth and managed to utter a hoarse sound: “Zhou… Zhou Hui?”
Lightning poured down. Zhou Hui’s handsome profile was streaked with blood, and amidst the interwoven strong light, there was an extreme sense of oppression.
—Why was he here?!
Chu He had no time to think, trying to raise his hand to struggle, but the hand clutching his throat was like an iron clamp, making it difficult for him to even breathe. Zhou Hui’s cold, condescending gaze drained his last bit of strength, as if even the last trace of warmth in his blood vessels and bone marrow had been burned away, leaving only cold ashes.
“Let go of me…” Chu He said in despair, his expression revealing an undisguised mortification. His voice trembled and dissipated into the crackling electric light as soon as it left his mouth.
“Let go of me, Zhou Hui… you’ll… be…”
You don’t have a divinity to withstand the lightning. You’ll be struck by the tribulation, even severely wounded and fall before me, a bloody mess.
Chu He desperately reached out his hand, his bone-exposed fingers lightly touching Zhou Hui’s cold, hard cheek.
This action almost cost him all his courage. It was meant to be a caress, but due to his extreme weakness, it became a fleeting touch. Then his wrist dropped, as he desperately reached for the Great Demon King’s divinity, which Zhou Hui held tightly.
However, Zhou Hui’s hand, grasping the gray-black divine aura, lifted half an inch backward, moving just out of reach of Chu He’s fingertips.
“Have I ever told you,” Zhou Hui said slowly, “that every time I see you hurt, I feel particularly bad?”
Chu He looked at him, panting, seemingly not understanding.
Thick pillars of lightning fell from the sky, splitting into countless tiny currents, like the inverted branches of a large tree, striking the mountain ground beside Zhou Hui, and splattering millions of pulverized rocks amidst a tsunami-like roar. At that moment, the light finally illuminated half of Zhou Hui’s body, while the other half remained in shadow. He was covered in scars and the smoke of battle, yet he looked like a towering, lofty god.
From very early on—from their first meeting under the Golden Bell, from his standing unbowed while the sea of blood was cleared, from crossing battlefields against thousands of men; Zhou Hui was like a true god without a divinity, steadily bearing the heavy burden of Phoenix’s faith, yet never wavering in the slightest.
No matter the schemes or calculations, nothing could make this man change his forward momentum.
Chu He, thoroughly disheveled, lowered his eyes, his thick lashes closing in pain.
—However, the next moment, his lips met a burning sensation; it was a kiss.
Chu He looked up in astonishment, only to see Zhou Hui breaking contact instantly, raising his head. Their reflections mirrored in his deep pupils: “If I can come back from the Immaterial Heaven,” Zhou Hui asked in a low voice, wiping the slight dampness from Chu He’s lips with his thumb, “do you still want me?”
“…” Chu He’s expression drastically changed, his pupils instantly constricting violently!
At the same time, the light from the divine realm gate in the center of the demonic eye faded from its peak, about to disappear into the void.
Zhou Hui, holding the Great Demon’s King’s divinity in his hand, stepped back half a pace, gave Chu He one last deep look, then abruptly turned and lunged into the entrance amidst the light.
Chu He screamed hysterically, “Zhou Hui—!”
Chu He, ignoring the intense pain throughout his body, took off in pursuit, but a figure was faster than him, instantly flashing past his side—it was Maha!
Maha’s hair had turned completely silver, fluttering wildly in the strong wind. As he rushed into the entrance of unpredictable light, he flipped his wrist, drawing his twin swords, and directly slashed behind Zhou Hui.
Chu He had no idea where he came from, perhaps from the sea of blood, or perhaps he had been waiting on Mount Buzhou. Undeniably, as a true Mingwang, Maha’s combat power was terrifying. At this time, he was in peak condition, and even Zhou Hui might not be his match.
Chu He sharply yelled, “Maha!”
Maha’s movement paused, and the next second, Zhou Hui mercilessly drew his blade in return, the impact forcefully pushing his eldest son back several steps!
At the same moment, Chu He caught up, grabbing his eldest son’s shoulder and directly pushing him out of the divine realm gate.
“I need that thing.” Maha staggered back half a step, pushed out of the gate, maintaining a stance of confrontation with Chu He, who was inside, but his gaze went past him to Zhou Hui, saying coldly, “Give me the Demon Lord’s divinity.”
His appearance could only be described as a sudden twist of events, but Zhou Hui responded with action—he snorted, turned, and swept into the depths of the divine realm passage, in a blink, only a receding back remained.
Maha’s hand gripping his sword hilt tightened. Just as he was about to give chase, Chu He stopped him: “Wait! No!”
“Why?” Maha’s posture towards Phoenix was very restrained, but also revealed a hint of unconcealed impatience and stubbornness: “You said you would give me the divinity to pause the Five Decays. Where are you going? What was that heavenly tribulation just now?”
“I will indeed… not watch you die, but not now.” Chu He couldn’t explain. He took a deep breath and shook his head: “I will give you another divinity, but not now, perhaps a thousand years later. Parents have things they must accomplish…”
“What exactly are you going to do?!”
Chu He was silent for a few seconds.
Just as he couldn’t answer, the energy maintaining the divine realm gate finally reached its end. The entrance suddenly began to twist and crack, and the surrounding area emitted trembling sounds indicating its imminent closure.
Maha watched all this in surprise, wanting to enter, but was blocked by Chu He, who then pushed him far away.
“Mother!”
“My divinity is yours.” Chu He finally told the truth, “If I’m lucky enough to survive this time, after Zhou Hui… after Zhou Hui leaves in the future, I will give you my divinity.”
Maha was completely stunned.
The divine realm gate finally closed with a roar. When Maha reacted and rushed forward, he saw Chu He’s figure flash and disappear in the passage. Then the entrance turned into nothingness before him, vanishing with intense heat into the dense demonic aura above the demonic eye.
Maha was furious: “—Mother!”
“Stop yelling.”
Maha turned his head to see Jia Louluo leaping down from a large cracked rock not far away. His face and arms were covered in scrapes, and after landing, he casually wrapped a torn bandage around his hand.
“Why are you so disheveled?” Maha frowned. “Do you know what Mother is going to do?”
Jia Louluo did not answer immediately. He stomped the gunpowder and dust off his pant legs, then leaned against the mountain wall and sat down. He pulled a handful of demon realm tobacco from his pocket, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it twice exhaustedly, and shook his head: “They went to the Formless Heaven to slay the Buddha… they might not come back.”
An extremely absurd feeling immediately arose in Maha’s heart.
Jia Louluo swallowed the tobacco, remained silent for a moment, a complex expression on his face. He seemed very tired of this long-term wandering fate, yet also helpless, finally exhaling after a long moment.
“If they don’t come back, then you can take my divinity…” He paused, then said listlessly, “I’m already very annoyed, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
